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Imperial Intelligence
Imperial Intelligence (abbreviated Imperial Intel), also known as the Bureau of Imperial Intelligence, Imperial Bureau of Investigation, and the Imperial Intelligence Agency is an elite branch of the Galactic Empire, dedicated to collecting information, secret and otherwise, for the Imperial government. It is considered to be a rival to the larger Imperial Security Bureau. The agency is responsible for covert operations in the Empire and has a strong reputation for it: it is said that the ISB has never succeeded in intercepting and decoding a single Imperial Intel document. Whereas the ISB investigates morale and coordinates the military with Imperial objectives, Imperial Intelligence is an older organization, descended from the intelligence-gathering offices of the Galactic Republic that specialized in external espionage. Imperial Intelligence is notable for easily having the highest number of non-Humans working for it in all the Empire. The reason for this is a practical one as members of the same species can better blend in with their own kind. However, most of the non-Humans working for Intelligence are agents and not part of the higher echelons of command. Under the rule of Emperor Damascus – who was the Director of Imperial Intelligence before becoming emperor – the organization grew to unrivaled heights of power, basically replacing both the ISB and the Imperial Special Services in prominence. After his reign was ended, Imperial Intelligence was stripped of that extra power, however it still remains a formidable force, rivaled by few other intelligence gathering agencies in the galaxy. =Organization= Like their counterparts in the Imperial Security Bureau, Imperial Intelligence personnel make use of a military-style system of ranks similar to those of the Imperial Army and Stormtrooper Corps. The agency makes use of covert operations which it uses to spy on its enemies as well as itself and other branches of the Galactic Empire. Imperial Intelligence is also responsible for watching the activities of various governments, corporations, and other forces in the galaxy. Furthermore, they keep an eye out for any notable mercenary, bounty hunters, and other outlaw activities. Imperial Intelligence consists of eight subdivisions: Ubiqtorate, Adjustments, Internal Organization Bureau, Analysis Bureau, Bureau of Operations, Intelligence, Sector Plexus, and the Inquisitorius. Ubiqtorate The Ubiqtorate is the highest level of command within Imperial Intelligence; the members oversee all of the activities of Imperial Intelligence. The Ubiqtorate formulates strategies for the various bureaus, presents them with a set of goals and very broad grand strategic considerations, and requests them to plan an effective strategy. With the exception of Adjustments, members of the Ubiqtorate never have any communication with personnel at the sector or system level. The Director of Imperial Intelligence is the head of the Ubiqtorate. The Ubiqtorate, in cooperation with the Imperial Navy, are responsible for the elite soldiers known as Special Navy Force Troopers. Adjustments Adjustments is the only branch of Imperial Intelligence to be controlled directly by the Ubiqtorate. Adjustment agents are called in when the Ubiqtorate feels that a critical situation has slipped from the control of Imperial Intelligence, and that the situation is beyond the normal capabilities of the bureaus, yet is not completely hopeless in resolving. Agents of Adjustments receive orders directly and in person from the Ubiqtorate and are then sent out to remedy the situation. No record of their orders is ever kept and no mission files exist within Sector Plexus for these agents. Internal Organization Bureau The Internal Organization Bureau, sometimes referred to as IntOrg, is the bureau designed to protect Imperial Intelligence's security from internal and external threats. The agents of IntOrg have a highly civil manner and a strong sense of political etiquette, though they don't lack in ruthlessness when the situation calls for it. IntOrg retains a good reputation among the agents of the other bureaus for their commitment to the security of Imperial Intelligence and since they don't abuse their authority or conduct political witch-hunts. The Internal Organization Bureau is divided into two branches, the Internal Security Branch and the Internal Counter-intelligence Bureau. Internal Security Branch Internal Security (IntSec) is responsible for the physical security of personnel, material, and facilities in Imperial Intelligence. Considered an unambitious job, IntSec agents tend to find themselves subject to jokes by other Imperial personnel but IntSec personnel are the only officers authorized to carry weapons in Intelligence facilities. They also make use of plainclothes agents outside facilities to spot and stop potential trouble. Internal Counter-intelligence Bureau The Internal Counter-intelligence Bureau (IntCon) is responsible for rooting out enemy agents or spy rings in Imperial Intelligence itself. Agents of IntCon are granted tremendous freedom to access any data through Sector Plexus. The bureau resembles a miniature Imperial Intelligence, with its own sections for Analysis, Operations, and Intelligence. The boundaries are often blurred, as IntCon is known for its informal atmosphere and loose structure. Information inside IntCon is heavily secured against unauthorized access by other bureaus, but there are no restrictions for agents of IntCon. This is a means for IntCon to monitor itself: every decision, action, or piece of data generated by a member of IntCon is available for any other agent to examine. This lack of secrecy, and often privacy, makes it nearly impossible for an enemy agent to operate within IntCon. Analysis Bureau The Analysis Bureau is the section of Imperial Intelligence responsible for handling large amounts of data from tens of millions of sources, searching for enemy activity by analyzing the patterns or trends in the data they handle and transmitting the information to Intelligence. Analysis also handles, examines, and copies useful technologies, even developing a few of their own. Media Media is the branch of Analysis responsible for the handling of public scandocs, newsdocs, holos, comlinks, beamcasts, and every form of media in the Galactic Empire. They search for patterns of hidden meanings which might betray a clue as to an enemy's plan and operation. Utilizing Sector Plexus and the Imperial CompLink, Media gives a cursory examination of all media within the Empire simultaneously. While they regularly concentrate on a significantly smaller portion of the Empire, they do make professional judgments on whether or not a new media source should be monitored on a more regular basis. Signal Signal examines the channel through which information is transmitted; sampling and checking carrier wave codes and CompLink protocols, scan rates on scandocs, and image packs on holos to see if any vital information is being squeezed through. Signal examines line noise to check if it contains a pattern rather than random error, and broadcasts and beamcasts to see if the backup information sent with the primary information matches, and, if not, how they differ. Cryptanalysis Known as Crypt, this division is responsible for all code-breaking. All evidence of coded communication found through Media and Signal's work is transferred to the Cryptanalysis branch. Tech Tech is the branch of Analysis responsible for analyzing an enemy's hardware, figuring out how it works and devising methods to provide Intelligence with superior hardware. Tech is given a lavish budget and a number of highly skilled personnel whose moments of brilliant inspiration can translate into innovative technology. Tech does a better job analyzing enemy gear than in producing its own; with the hardware in front of them and orders to figure out how it works, Tech scientists do the job better than anyone else. Interrogation Interrogation is responsible for the handling of enemy agents captured by Imperial Intelligence. Interrogation is not as bloodthirsty as their counterparts in the Imperial Security Bureau, which would reduce their effectiveness in cracking prisoners. Nevertheless, they have a larger purpose, working on the assumption that the enemy will work as hard as possible to render any divulged information useless. Unless the captive agent is believed to hold vital information, interrogation is minimal. Interrogation has also been known to utilize direct neuroprogramming of susceptible prisoners to create highly reliable double-agents. Their techniques are so sophisticated that they are undetectable by everything but the most advanced medical probes. Bureau of Operations The Bureau of Operations is the only bureau in the Imperial Intelligence to be called the "Bureau". The Bureau handles the covert operations which are beyond the scope or required greater resources than those of the average system cell. The Bureau sends in a team of specialists to a sector, in effect creating an at-large system cell, or they can send a few agents to augment an already existing system cell for a single mission. The Bureau is broken up into six distinct divisions: Surveillance, Infiltration, Renik, Diplomatic Services, Destabilization Branch, and Assassination. Surveillance Surveillance keeps watch on serious threats to the Empire. Sorting through information and unerringly selecting suspects currently involved in anti-Imperial activity, Surveillance does its job with surprising and deadly efficiency despite their small size. At the peak of the New Order, Surveillance had less than one agent for every seventy or so dedicated to the same job in the Imperial Security Bureau. Despite the huge difference in numbers between the two organizations, Surveillance is more successful than ISB in its operations, a point Surveillance takes much pride in. Surveillance agents are well trained in a broad variety of skills, including combat skills, as they are expected to handle situations by themselves in the field. Surveillance agents are thoroughly briefed on everything which is known about a suspect, and are expected to make arrests, or to neutralize the suspect if an arrest appears untenable. Infiltration Before an agent is accepted into Infiltration proper, they are reassigned to Intelligence, where they assist agents within the sector branches, and then later assigned to Sedition. The agents undergo intense training and are exposed to mnemiotic drugs to enhance their learning. Those who survive with their minds intact acquire a great deal of knowledge, and are then allowed into Infiltration. Once a formal part of Infiltration, they are tested to see which mission profile suits them best: double agent, mole, or a "polwcoz" (an agent who is used once, at a critical moment when it will be devastating to the enemy). Renik Renik is the counter-intelligence branch of the Bureau. Renik specializes in identifying and dismantling enemy intelligence operations. If a particular operation is considered to be potentially useful to the Empire, Renik will hand over all information on the enemy intelligence operation to the Infiltration branch, who will then take it from Renik and deal with it accordingly. However, if an operation is considered insignificant or too dangerous, Renik will destroy it. Diplomatic Services The Diplomatic Services, or DiploServ, branch of the Bureau amounts for a sizable portion of the personnel for trade and diplomatic missions found in the Empire. They also account for the political experts advising the Imperial planetary governors and Moffs. DiploServ personnel are well trained and expected to perform only their overt duties. Others are more clandestine agents, sent on specific missions or to establish and organize system cells within their mission area. Destabilization Branch Destabilization Branch, or Destab, is known as "the quiet branch." No one knows much about Destab's operations or personnel. They are, however, known for committing full-fledged atrocities rather than legitimate intelligence operations. Officially, Destab specializes in "taking the fabric which holds a people, society, or government together and unravelling it." Agents from other branches have suggested Destab's methods closely resemble "shredding." They instill pure terror into a population and destroy any semblance of social order. Assassination Assassination is embraced by other agents, long considered a legitimate means of removal of key members of the opposition. Assassination's agents are trained to take every advantage, to use every trick and matter of subterfuge possible. Assassination is careful to select targets in which mission success is probable. Intelligence When Analysis finishes sorting, cleaning, decoding, or otherwise manipulating the data sent to them, they pass it on to Intelligence. Intelligence has culled experts from all over the Empire. Intelligence combines the vast knowledge of its agents with the most sophisticated computer models in the galaxy to predict trends or future actions of the enemies of the New Order. These predictions are refined into reports transmitted to the Ubiqtorate. From these reports, the Ubiqtorate establishes priorities and sets strategies for the whole of Imperial Intelligence. Intelligence is broken up into three permanent divisions: External Communications, Sedition, and the Sector Branches. It can also create a temporary division known as Crisis. External Communications External Communications, or ExComm, is used for emergency communication with system cells, or for priority communications with the military forces of the Empire. ExComm is used for those rare times when the labyrinthine communication works of Sector Plexus are just not quick enough. Sedition Sedition specializes in knowledge and predictions on organized opposition to the Empire. It grew rapidly during the Galactic Civil War. Sector Branches The sector branches are the basic divisions of Intelligence. There is a sector branch for each sector in the Empire, and each sector branch has scores or hundreds of experts within it. Sedition and Crisis draw from the sector branches as is appropriate for the situation currently under consideration. Crisis Crisis is created as the need arises for each active hot spot within the Empire. A Crisis branch is in constant contact with the Ubiqtorate, and ExComm facilities are at their disposal for direct contacts with Grand Moffs, and even the Emperor or Regent if the situation is dire enough. Sector Plexus Sector Plexus is the heart of the information system for Imperial Intelligence. While none of the bureaus are completely centralized, Sector Plexus is the most dispersed. Equipped with the most advanced communication computers and equipment in the galaxy, Sector Plexus conduits handle better than 99.95 percent of all Imperial Intelligence communications. I'ts said that the Plexus encodes, categorizes, transmits, stores, receives and decodes more messages in a single standard day than most planetary communications nets will transmit in over 800 standard years. Sector Plexus has also been known to make use of Tech 4 Plexus Droid Vessels to send information. System Cell A system cell is the basic unit of Imperial Intelligence. When the Ubiqtorate plans strategy, it thinks in terms of operations which could be conducted independently by system cells, with all coordination coming from the bureaus. System cells are aware of the command structure immediately above them, but are allowed to know very little else about Imperial Intelligence. They are most emphatically not allowed to know of the existence or operations of other system cells. Imperial Intelligence has placed millions of system cells throughout the galaxy; most on inhabited worlds but some on a few uninhabited ones which prove to be convenient jump sites or listening posts. While a system cell can theoretically be of any size from a single being to hundreds, they usually range from four to 20 beings. Imperial Intelligence often recruits agents from the worlds on which they are going to serve, training them off-world only if absolutely necessary. Once a cell has proven itself, it may be given additional training and possible placement on other systems. Imperial Intelligence gives system cells rudimentary logistic support. The only standard piece of equipment is the RWStar A/P Transceiver, with expanded memory and processing capabilities, which communicates with Plexus droid vehicles or Plexus conduits. Other equipment is to be obtained by the system cell itself, or is provided on a mission basis only. This lack of equipment occasionally hampers a cell, but the ingenuity of cell agents usually makes up for the lack of sophisticated gear. A cell can increase its status within Imperial Intelligence by equipping itself from hostile sources. Imperial CompLink Imperial Complink is not a division within Sector Plexus, but rather an ambitious project. CompLink allows Imperial Intelligence to use software that has been secretly installed on computers throughout the Empire to monitor electronic communications. The spyware transmits information packets to orbiting hyperspace transmitters that then forward the information to the Analysis Bureau for study. Inquisitorius In its original incarnation, the Inquisitorius was primarily tasked with hunting down Jedi who had managed to escape or avoid Order 66. It was eventually reorganized during the rule of Regent Grand Admiral Thrawn to find and weed out the corrupt members of the Galactic Empire. The Inquisitorius is unique in that although it is considered a branch of Imperial Intelligence, it reports directly to the head of the Empire and not the Ubiqtorate. =Sources= *Wookieepedia *''Imperial Sourcebook, Second Edition'' Category:Imperial Organizations